Excerpts from The Life of Alice the Leper:

(Cawley, Father Martinus, trans. The Life of Alice the Leper. Lafayette: Guadelupe Translations, 1994.)

Used by permission.

Alice died on St. Barnabus' Day, Saturday, 11 June, 1250. Cistercian monks did not hold a feast in her honor until 1702. The author of Alice's hagiography seems to be an abbot. His work is not a handbook on lepers. He ignores all biblical references to leprosy and fails to include Alice's ceremony of isolation. The author seems more interested in the manner in which Alice copes with her social isolation and moral stigma. This work appears to be an attempt to dispel the idea that leposy is a punishment from God for the leper's sins.The Life of Alice the Leper is divided into three sections. Part I, (Prologue to Section 8) narrates her pre-leprous years; Part II (Sections 9-21) discusses her years of isolation; Part III (Sections 22-34) involves her final, year-long illness. (This information from Cawley's "The Life of Alice and the Silver Age at Villers," Cistercian Scholars Quarterly.)